Our Network

Where else could you meet a hedge fund manager, NPO director, Buddhist priest, international banker, United States Navy fighter pilot and a female race car driver all in the same day?

Since its inception in 2000, the US-Japan Leadership Program has grown into a vibrant network of 367 top leaders in the U.S. and Japan. Members come from every imaginable background, including national and local government, academia, business, education, finance, labor, law, law enforcement, media (TV and print), military, NGOs, non-profit, science and technology, engineering, medicine, politics, religion, the arts (theatre, film, music, graphic), entertainment, and sports. Americans and Japanese from all these sectors form personal bonds through USJLP, and it is these bonds that underpin the US-Japan relationship.

Once selected for the Program, members gain lifelong access to the unique pool of USJLP talent and are able to engage in activities that take place throughout the U.S. and Japan, from intellectual gatherings to informal meetings. An annual "Fellows Weekend" held during the last two days of each conference serves as both a reunion for Fellows (alumni) as well as a time for current Delegates and Fellows to bond and expand their personal connection with USJLP.

Exploring new, innovative projects, business ideas, and international cross-sector collaborations are realistic and possible through the dynamism of our network. The fundamental goal of the US-Japan Leadership Program comes to life when after meeting through the Program, our members continue to deepen their relationships, play key roles in paving the way to new opportunities for one another, and call upon the network to instigate new initiatives that benefit the greater global society.

In their own words:

"The USJLP is a truly special group where members from both countries so naturally live up to its founding purpose (developing a network of communication, friendship and understanding). This alone proves that the USJLP provides a powerful and worthy platform to fill the void that governments cannot otherwise fill."

"It was a very intense week of interesting discussions in Seattle in 2000. The Fellows' network in Japan and in US was very helpful during the 3/11 Fukushima Nuclear Crisis. This Program will forever be a bridge over the Pacific!"

"By exposing today's brightest and most promising civic-minded citizens in the U.S. and Japan to established and well- positioned government and industry elite, USJLP methodically empowers up-and-coming leaders to aspire to great attainment, to acquire the necessary skills and to triumph in sealing the deal, all the while creating an unbreakable unique lifelong bond of family, friendship and fun among Delegates and Fellows."